Nyota Uhura
Uhura was the chief communications officer aboard the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]], Starfleet Command and the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)|USS Enterprise-A]], a career spanning nearly 30 years. Early Life Uhura, daughter of M'Umbha, was born in the United States of Africa on Earth in 2239. Her name, "Uhura", translates as "freedom" in Swahili, and she speaks her mother language fluently. (TOS: "The Man Trap") :Uhura's date and location of birth were never established on screen, but were instead derived from the classic Trek writer's guide, the ''Star Trek Concordance, the Star Trek Chronology and the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Her mother tongue, Swahili, implies an East African origin or heritage.'' In her youth, Uhura used to run the 100m dash in record time. (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon") The Five-Year Mission In 2266, Uhura would begin her career as Chief Communications Officer aboard the USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk during his historic five-year mission. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver") Following a communications blackout caused by Apollo jamming all communication frequencies between the Enterprise and her landing party in 2267, Uhura attempted the delicate task of rewiring the entire communications system in an attempt to break through the interference. In conjuction with Sulu's rigging of all transmission circuits for maximum power generation, Uhura successfully connected the bypass circuit, a task she had not done in several years. During her attempt to make the necessary modifications, she was informed by Spock that she must work as quickly as possible; however, despite his urgency, the science officer encouraged her work by stating that he could think of "no one better equipped" to handle the necessary repairs. (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?") Her most traumatic experience during her time aboard the Enterprise, was having her memory wiped out by the space probe Nomad, when it interpreted her singing as a biological malfunction. Dr. McCoy used advanced medical and educational techniques to retrain her and to restore her to normal. (TOS: "The Changeling") When the Enterprise crew was under the influence of powerful telepaths, Uhura was forced to kiss Captain Kirk. (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren") : The kiss between Kirk and Uhura would become famous, as it was the first interracial kiss on American television. In 2270, Uhura was temporarily in command of the bridge when the Enterprise lost contact with Kirk and Spock, half of the ships' contact party, while exploring the surface of Delta Theta III. Per Kirk's orders of avoiding unnecessary risks, she ordered Scotty and Sulu, the other half of the contact party, aboard the ship, contrary to their attempt to locate the Spock and the Captain. (TAS: "Bem") Late Career In 2270, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander aboard the refitted Enterprise, now under the command of Captain Willard Decker. She served aboard the Enterprise during the V'Ger crisis, again under the command of now-Admiral Kirk. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) In 2284, Uhura was promoted to Commander and was assigned to Starfleet Command communications and to Starfleet Academy while the Enterprise was reassigned to cadet training. Part of her duty was giving lectures at the Academy. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) In 2285, Uhura was assigned to the transporter room at Old City Station. During the planned rescue attempt of Spock from the Genesis Planet, Uhura played an instrumental role of illegally transporting Admiral Kirk and company to the Enterprise, prior to its theft. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) They succeeded, and Uhura met up with her crewmates on Vulcan. She, along with the rest of the crew travelled back to the year 1986 aboard the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, [[HMS Bounty|HMS Bounty]], to retrieve two humpback whales. While in 20th century San Francisco, Uhura and Chekov transported aboard the aircraft carrier [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS Enterprise]] to acquire high-energy photons from its reactor core. Upon their return to the 23rd century Earth, she was among the crew charged with the theft of the Enterprise. However, because they had saved the planet Earth from the attack of an alien probe, all charges against them were dropped. She would be reassigned to the communications aboard the USS Enterprise-A. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) Until the Camp Khitomer crisis of 2293, Uhura served as Communications Officer aboard the Enterprise-A. The Enterprise-A played a vital role in the success of the Khitomer Conference. By the end of that year, Uhura had left the Enterprise, and had taken up a position at Starfleet Academy. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) Personal Life Uhura was well known aboard the Enterprise for her talented singing, and was known for entertaining the crewmembers of the Enterprise with her songs. On occasion, she would be accompanied by Spock on the Vulcan harp, as with the song "Oh, On the Starship Enterprise". (TOS: "Charlie X") Uhura had shown some romantic interest in ship's engineer Montgomery Scott, but their relationship was never pursued. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) Appendices Appearances * See also: Main character non-appearances Background Uhura was played by Nichelle Nichols, who appeared in approximately sixty-five episodes Nichols also provided the voice of Uhura (in addition to a few 'guest' character voices) for The Animated Series, and appeared in all but seven of its episodes. Uhura's name was derived from "Uhuru", the Swahili word for "freedom", but the character's given name was never established in the series or the movies. In Star Trek VI, her name was misspelled "Uhuru" in the credits. By the early 1970s, fans had suggested that her first name may have been "Penda", meaning "love". Later, the name "Nyota" ("star" in Swahili) became more commonly used, first by William Rostler in his book Star Trek II Biographies. Nichols has said that an author writing about the history of Star Trek had asked Gene Roddenberry what Uhura's first name is, and was told that one was never decided. The author then recommended the name "Nyota". Roddenberry liked it, but said to ask Nichols before he allowed the name to be used. Nichols thought the name was perfect. (Source: Interview - Stat Trek: TOS Season 2 DVD) The character of Uhura has been said to have inspired other future actresses, such as Whoopi Goldberg. Nichelle Nichols was considering leaving the Star Trek franchise after the first season, but a meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced her otherwise. Apocrypha Uhura is depicted in the non-canonical novels ''The Art of the Impossible, Catalyst of Sorrows, and Vulcan's Soul, Book I: Exodus as later going on to become the head of Starfleet Intelligence in the 24th century, serving into 2377. Uhura Uhura Uhura de:Uhura fr:Uhura nl:Uhura